Played in an RPGC tournament yesterday and just want to leave a quick review about the current green conditions - and it's not great. I played here a few weeks back and the greens were in terrific sha... Continue »

Played in an RPGC tournament yesterday and just want to leave a quick review about the current green conditions - and it's not great. I played here a few weeks back and the greens were in terrific shape, but something has gone amiss.

There are patchy dirt sections, something that looks like mold on a lot of them, and far too many ball marks to count. I'm not sure what happened but putting right now is a true adventure, and not the good kind. Speeds are inconsistent, lines are inconsequential and frustrations will be high.

The rest of the course? Not bad at all. Fairways and rough are good for the most part, bunkers had decent sand in them and most of the tee boxes were flat, level and had some coverage, but a few of the par 3s are thin and don't really have grass but moss instead.

POP was great since it was a tournament and we finished in just over four hours. But the overriding message here is that the greens are currently very, very disappointing.

Took advantage of an invite to play an early morning round at Rancho. Despite the early tee time, it took forever to drive there from south OC. I have always felt Rancho was a true barometer of what a... Continue »

Took advantage of an invite to play an early morning round at Rancho. Despite the early tee time, it took forever to drive there from south OC. I have always felt Rancho was a true barometer of what a golfer shoots. It is challenging but fair, and provides a stern test on enough holes to create scoring stress, but a few holes where birdie opportunities are still available.
Conditions were about what I expected based upon the most recent review, although the greens rolled even better than I anticipated. Still some issues with the fairways, but overall, decent shape.

The group I played with wanted to play the blue tees, which at one time was my norm, but as I approach 80, they are simply just too much for me now. Remembering holes I used to reach with middle irons, are now two woods at best. Despite that, enjoyed a great day at one of my favorite old style traditional golf courses. Wish we had some of these in Orange County.

Played last Friday in a Rancho Park Men's Club tournament at the home course and found the course to be in pretty good shape overall on what turned out to be the most perfect golf weather day you coul... Continue »

Played last Friday in a Rancho Park Men's Club tournament at the home course and found the course to be in pretty good shape overall on what turned out to be the most perfect golf weather day you could ever want. It was stunning. The clubhouse situation is still a bit of an embarrassment after so many years now of nothing actually being finished, so you're still limited to a food truck which gets its orders from a snack window near the driving range. It's highly impractical. The range itself is good but over-crowded and the ball quality has gotten pretty poor I've noticed. My group played from the white tees this round which is still plenty of challenge at Rancho. The fairways were in mostly good, not great shape but there were plenty of dead or dry areas just off the main lanes. Bunkers were okay, while the tee boxes were level but not always greatly covered. The greens were definitely the highlight as I found them to be in good shape, rolling true and holding shots well. The were particularly fast on this day as well which befuddled many in my foursome for most of the afternoon. I think Rancho could definitely benefit from some upcoming precipitation but it's still in good enough shape right now that if you get a time, don't hesitate to take it.

Played last Saturday at 6:50 am. The parking lot was crowded when I got there at 6:15. The course moved along okay, with a 4:15 POP. The snack shack was not open when we passed it between the 11th and... Continue »

Played last Saturday at 6:50 am. The parking lot was crowded when I got there at 6:15. The course moved along okay, with a 4:15 POP. The snack shack was not open when we passed it between the 11th and 12th holes but I saw that it was open when we were on the 17th tee. Opening at 10:00 or later, there were no services available, other than the range, for the early morning golfers. Glad I brought my own coffee.

The course was playing firm and fast. The fairways were pretty tight and the rough was generally cut down. It was pretty dry also with some bare spots. The highlight was the greens. They were fast and true. Really nice right now. The best I have seen them here in a while. The sand traps have been pretty bad lately, with little sand. I was in one/two when I went for the green on my second shot on 18. The trap was filled with thick beach sand. I popped it out to the next bunker, where it plugged on my 10' shot. I was able to get up and down for par but the sand made it really tough. I am not a fan of beach sand but it is better than no sand! Glad to see they are working on improvements there.

Overall, a beautiful morning on a muni court in pretty good shape. About as good as it can get while conserving water as they obviously are.

Played in another RPGC men's club tournament at the home course this past weekend and am delighted to report that the greens are in tremendous shape right now. Completely healed, rolling true and fast... Continue »

Played in another RPGC men's club tournament at the home course this past weekend and am delighted to report that the greens are in tremendous shape right now. Completely healed, rolling true and fast and in very optimal condition for one of the busiest courses in Los Angeles.

Unfortunately the opposite is true of the fairways and some other conditions. My flight played from the white tees but those tee boxes were in good condition, while the bunkers were just okay and the rough was thick but playable. Back to the fairways - dry, thin and just not very optically pleasing. The recent heat did a number on them, so hopefully this past week's small rainfall will do the opposite, but I'm not convinced.

POP was okay for the most part but we were the final group for the tournament so it was expectedly a longer round than normal. Once again no cart service but a great little snack shop at the 12th tee box.

Hoping the club can get the fairways in a little better shape and then playing here will once again by a no-brainer.

Played before 7:00 am on Sunday, Mother's Day. Course was surprisingly crowded when we finished in almost exactly 4 hours. I thought Mother's Day was supposed to be the lightest of the year??

Short... Continue »

Played before 7:00 am on Sunday, Mother's Day. Course was surprisingly crowded when we finished in almost exactly 4 hours. I thought Mother's Day was supposed to be the lightest of the year??

Short add to my review last week. They fixed the greens. Quickest turnaround I have ever seen. No evidence of any issue. The greens look great. They are running a little faster than medium speed, so not as fast as usual, but they are much better than last week. They were putting more water on the course likely because of the unseasonable heat.

Played early today, 6:40 am, on a cloudy, cool morning. Played in 3:50 on a day in which it looked like many golfers did not show up possibly worried about more rain.

Conditions were generally the ... Continue »

Played early today, 6:40 am, on a cloudy, cool morning. Played in 3:50 on a day in which it looked like many golfers did not show up possibly worried about more rain.

Conditions were generally the same as last time. Rough was a little up and the fairways were in good shape. The greens had a fungus problem throughout the course. Light colored circles all over the greens. They ran much slower than they looked and were quite bumpy. Hopefully the course can get the problem under control. Quickly would be nice considering I am playing here again next week.

I saw the warning of maintenance but booked it anyway due to the difficulty of getting a decent tee time. That said, I can't remember seeing as much sand as I did on #6. I may as well have been in D... Continue »

I saw the warning of maintenance but booked it anyway due to the difficulty of getting a decent tee time. That said, I can't remember seeing as much sand as I did on #6. I may as well have been in Dubai. Overall Rancho will always be a class of the field type muni but this place needs to heal for about 2-3 weeks before I'd consider playing it again. Pace of play was good at 4:15 with an 8:00 tee time. Maybe it was guys like us just taking auto 2 putts due to the conditions.

Played today, April 6, with a 6:50 tee time. I think we were the third group out. The first group was very slow, ended up being a 4:20 POP, which is way too slow for that early. We waited on most shot... Continue »

Played today, April 6, with a 6:50 tee time. I think we were the third group out. The first group was very slow, ended up being a 4:20 POP, which is way too slow for that early. We waited on most shots. Otherwise nice day out there. Pleased to see the snack shack open at the 12th tee. The food truck at the clubhouse was not open when we walked by at 11:10.

Probably a good thing they are aerating this week. The greens were putting as good as I have seen them, rolling true and fast, but they were quite firm. We had trouble finding divots from the balls on some of the greens we hit. Anything more than a wedge was going to bounce out. Very little check on chips around the green. The rest of the course was good. Decent coverage in the fairways and the rough was inconsistent but fairly thick in places. I was in three green side bunkers. Good sand at # 4 and ittle or no sand in the ones at # 12 and #16.

Always a pleasure getting out here, today included. Recommended.